The number of ships receiving an environmental discount on port charges at the Port of Gothenburg increased 83 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year.
The port authority noted that one in three ships at the largest port in Scandinavia received the environmental discount last year.
Vessels using LNG as fuel qualify for a 30 percent discount. During 2016, two vessels, the Ternsund and Fure West, owned by Donsö-based shipping companies Tärntank Ship Management and Furetank received the full discount.
In total, 75 vessels received a discount of 10 percent on the port charges compared to 41 in 2015.
The current environmental discount was first introduced on January 1, 2015. Another similar environmental reward system was in place prior to that, with the aim to encourage shipping companies to mitigate their environmental impact in a way that goes beyond laws and regulations.
Previously, the companies were required to register their vessels with Port Control at the Port of Gothenburg. With effect from January 1, 2017, registration takes place automatically when vessels call at the port. Vessels running on LNG will still need to report to the Gothenburg Port Authority to secure the discount.
However, vessels running on LNG will still need to report to the Gothenburg Port Authority to secure the discount.
The discount is based on two separate environmental indexes, Environmental Ship Index and Clean Shipping Index.